Installing the Speaker, Speaker Phase | Niles Audio AT8200, AT8000

Installation of the Speaker and Grille in New or Existing Construction

Installing the Speaker

If the grille is already installed, remove it by using a bent paper clip or the tip of a corkscrew and pulling it away from the frame (See Figure 13).

1.Separate the speaker wire so that at least two inches of each conductor are free.

2.Strip one half inch of insulation from the end of each conductor of the speaker wire.

3.If you have gold pin connectors which you wish to use, affix them to the stripped wire ends now.

4.Connect one stripped wire end (or con- nector) to the black and one to the red terminal. Pay attention to the markings on the wire. Each speaker must be con- nected to the amplifier in the same way.

5.Place the speaker baffle in the frame and secure it with the supplied #8 x 1/2” screws. If you find that the baffle does not smoothly fit the frame, slightly loosen the mounting screws that hold the frame to the bracket.

6.Carefully fit the grille into its recess so that it is barely in place. Starting with one corner, go around the speaker, pushing the grille in a little bit each time. You should be gentle, the aluminum grille can be easily bent out of shape. The speaker will have an absolutely flush appearance when it is fully in place.

Speaker Phase

Speaker wire has two conductors. One conductor is attached to the negative (-) terminals and one conductor is attached to the positive (+) terminals of both your speaker and your amplifier. Usually, the wire is marked for your convenience. There are different ways wires are marked: a stripe on one wire, a ribbed area of one

Figure 13

conductor you can only feel, different col- ors of metal wire on each conductor, or there might be a fabric strand or string wound into one of the conductors. Of course, there are some wires which appear completely identical. Be careful, or you might make a mistake.

If you make a mistake, one speaker will be playing “out-of-phase” with the other speaker. An out-of-phase pair of speakers work against each other and the sound of the two speakers playing together will be lacking in bass and be “phasey” sounding. If you suspect the sound is not right and you cannot see any markings on the wire, try this simple test:

1.Stand half way between the two speakers.

2.Play some music with the amplifier or radio set to Mono.

3.Listen to the richness of the bass and the loudness of the sound.

4.Turn off the amplifier and reverse the con- nections on one amplifier channel only.

5.Repeat the listening test with the same setting of the volume control. When the sound has a richer bass and is slightly louder, the speakers are working togeth- er or “in-phase”.